Disney's Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers

It's...a..fun...game...er, um, now...what...do...we...do...?

By Adam Cleveland

Updated: 13 Dec 2018 3:32 am

Posted: 26 Oct 2000 12:00 am

I cannot believe my eyes. At long last, a Disney-licensed game that's really fun to play! I expect this to happen only once in a blue moon, so consider my blessings counted. For the longest time now, Donald Duck has had only minor roles in videogames, lurking behind the shadows of one Mickey Mouse. This time, our beloved angry mallard steps into the spotlight. Those of you familiar with Duck Tales will find many areas and characters from his game to be old acquaintances. The younger you are, the more you'll enjoy Disney's Donald Duck in Goin' Quackers. I must be a kid at heart, though, because I found this one to be a lot of fun.

Gameplay The plot is very basic. Merlock, an evil wizard, has kidnapped big-time star reporter Daisy Duck during her live video shooting. Donald, who is watching from his TV at home, jumps out of his seat and immediately sets off to rescue her. During the game, he has to proceed through 20 different stages before he can save his snoogy wuggums. To get to her, Donald has to kick and punch his way past an endless array of baddies, such as dogs, sword-swinging madmen, and vicious cobras. In each world, there are four main stages, one boss stage, and one bonus stage. To get to the boss stage, Donald has to complete the four regulars first.

The game plays very much like Crash Bandicoot in many of its stages. I've never been the biggest fan of Crash games, but this wasn't bad. Donald's primary directions of movement are up and down. He can move from side to side as well, but he's very restricted by the surrounding terrain. Each level is built up of plenty of enemies, obstacles, and pits. Your goal in each level is one of three things. First, you have to recover the reflector dish. Once you have that in hand, simply find the exit to the stage and you're all set. There are also three toys per area that Huey, Dewey, or Louie have accidentally left behind. If you collect all 12 toys for each world, you'll be able to enter a bonus stage. You can also run the time trial after you've beaten a particular place. Simply run to the end of the stage before the clock runs out to pass.

Some stages take a different perspective. Instead of running up and down, they run horizontally and flat. If you're accustomed to Mario and Sonic from back in the days where everything was comprised of pixels, playing these levels should be like a second nature to you. It's nice to see that some developers are giving old, classic gameplay the new-age treatment. These were my favorite levels in the entire game. I would have loved to see even more. Perhaps in the future? Only time can tell.

The bonus stages feel like they were taken out of Crash Bandicoot, too. In each one, someone or something is chasing you. In one, it's a giant bear. In another, it's a ghostly hand. You have to run to the very end of the level, avoiding all of the traps and obstacles along the way. If you're caught by your predator, you have to restart from the last check point you passed. These were always the most exciting parts in any Crash game, so it's no wonder they were cloned. It's a shame you don't get to ride a baby polar bear. Luckily, there's no objectives here. You don't have to collect disks or toys -- it's all about survival.

Donald just wouldn't be Donald without his anger. More or less, he uses his temper to his advantage. Enemies, beware! Donald will haul off and sock you in the face, or bounce off of you with his feathery behind. But know this, would-be villains: this duck is out to get his sweety-pie back, and he's fighting with a vengeance. There aren't any special moves to learn or attacks to unleash. Controlling him is very much like in the oldschool 2D platformers. You can jump, double-jump, and punch. That's all you'll need to battle Merlock and his minions.

Four worlds may not seem like much to your ordinary gamer. Well, Mr. Gamer, you're right. The levels themselves aren't problematic. In fact, I commend Ubi Soft on a job excellently done. However, they're not on the lengthy side of things. Even the levels in the final world take only five to ten minutes to complete, and that's taking into account all the times I fell in lava because I missed a jump. The four worlds you can visit are the Rocky Forest, Duckberg, Magica's Haunted Manor, and Merlock's Ancient Temple. Of these, Magica's Haunted Manor is by far the best. The first level of this world, for example, is worth noting, because the design and atmosphere is perfect. In the end, everything sums up to about three and a half hours of gaming your first time through. Once you defeat Merlock, there's not much reason to return and do anything else, such as finish the time trials.

Bosses, as with most any game, provide the most intense situations. Although they were creative and fun, these bosses are extremely simple. The same can be said about the game in general. Yeah, there are some stages that gave me a little trouble and a couple of tricky jumps that cost me.. ten lives or so, but in the long run, it's very short and very easy. The bosses provide little challenge. Once you learn their particular pattern, they can be taken down without skill. Still, this comes very highly recommended for young children. The holiday season is just around the corner, and this would make a great gift for your young ones.

Graphics Simple and cartoonish but colorful and creative. Some of the special effects catch the eye, like the evil pumpkins and lightning in Magica's Haunted Manor. You can tell with ease that this is a Disney-licensed game. The buildings and enemies all have that "Duck Tales" edge on them. The animation is also very good. One of the sequences I like best is when Donald gets sucked through the teleporter into one of the four worlds he explores. It looks like something I'd expect to see in a cartoon on the Disney Channel.

Sound Zany and wacky best describes how Goin' Quackers sounds. The music and sound effects are exactly what you'd expect to hear in a cartoon-based video game. Zonks and ploinks are there to greet you with each hop and bop you perform. The music is catchy and weird, but always fits the game everywhere you go. For each area, it sounds different. In Duckberg, you can hear cars zooming and horns, which give the music a "hustle and bustle" city effect.

Talented voice actors contributed to the game by lending their vocal abilities. The whole gang's in there: Donald and his three nephews, Daisy, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone, the Bugel Boys, and Magica de Spell. These folks did a good job, but it's a shame that there wasn't more voice acting done. You can only hear it at key points, such as during a boss encounter, when you're talking to Gyro in his lab, or at the introduction and end movies.

Verdict

Short but sweet, Donald Duck in Goin' Quackers is a strong buy for kids. I remember how many times I used to play through platformers when I was in diapers (I'm proud to say I've been wearing big boy pants for two years now). With that in mind, I'm sure children ages six years and up will milk a lot of use out of this game. They've got good reason to. Although it may be on the quick and easy side, it's got all the right stuff.